~tomorrow~

is not going to be a fun day.  i have to work at 4am. it snowed 3 feet this weekend and is around –28 degrees celsius.  i have to tell people that they will be without a job. like ten of them. not.going.to.be.fun. this is the poopy part of my job.  hope it doesn’t have to happen often. better story tomorrow for my blog i hope…

~Loving Life These Days!!!~

I am loving the direction our life has been going the last couple of months, especially this month!  Ethan has had no problems for quite some time now (knock on wood) and I am settled into my new job and we’ve had a great flow of life. 

It has been a slower pace since it has been cold outside but we’ve had lots of fun doing crafts, playing with cars in the basement and just hanging out with each other.

January will be a bit of a crazy month for me…we have a major shift of positions coming up mid month which means I will be working some overnight shifts, early mornings (4am start, Yikes!) and lots of weird evenings and weekends.  Then at the end of the month I head to Medicine Hat for a week…let me just point out that travelling from Grande Prairie to Medicine Hat is not a fun thing…it is like 12 hours of travel!  So we have two travel days on top of it!  They will be long work days too while I’m there; 7am starts till 6pm then supper from 6:30pm and we socialize until the wee hours of the morning…network, network!  You never know when one of these people will make a critical decision about something to do with me!

So since I’ve known that January is going to be so freaking tough on me I took some time on my holidays to downshift and have a break. We had a great time at home at our Mom’s house for Christmas but it was sure nice to come home on Tuesday!  Ethan and I hung out in our PJ’s on Wednesday and watched TV and played with all his new toys.  Yesterday and today I took him to daycare so he could play with his little buddies and I could have some me time.  It’s very rare that I take him to daycare when I’m not working but I know it’s important to have time to myself.  I always plan to come home and veg out but I end up going window (or otherwise, LOL) shopping in a tonne of different stores that I normally don’t make it into.  It’s nice for me to be able to browse without feeling like Ethan is bored stiff and so I don’t have to rush.  I love shopping slowly and looking at things…  I don’t think I could just come home and sit anyhow, the house would be far too quiet without Ethan here, LOL!

I’m looking forward to tomorrow;  we are heading out to our friends the Smiths’ house.  They live on an acreage about 45 minutes out of  Grande Prairie.  We are going to skidoo to the river just down from their house and take all the kids tobogganing on the hills there.  Leanne and Greg have taken their kids there for the last couple of years;  Ethan is just now big enough for it!  We are going to light a bonfire and make some hot chocolate and roast some hot dogs.  Thankfully it is only supposed to be –3 here tomorrow so it should be fairly comfortable to be out in.  It will be nice to get some fresh air too!  I’m really looking forward to it; I love tobogganing!   I hope I get some pictures too, I haven’t taken any for awhile.

That’s what we’re up to…like I said, it’s all good for us right now!  Hoping that it will be even better in about a year and a bit from now too…

~Home Depot Christmas Party~

So a fun time was had by all at last night’s Christmas Party.  The night started out slow with only a few people trickling in.  It was themed the Ugly Christmas Sweater party so we came decked out in our Bedazzled Value Village with a Wanda fashion flair sweaters.  Unfortunately we were almost the only ones.  A-W-K-W-A-R-D-!  I hate being the odd one!  There were maybe 10 others that came in ugly sweaters…out of around 94!  Those buggers I tell you!  I did have some people that went out and got some good ones and had some fun:

Joe…he had some fun. He wore 2 sweaters, one on the top, one on the bottom.  Yup that is a set of balls etc. hanging there!

I was involved in the Decoration of Gingerbread houses, blindfolded.  We salaried managers were paired up with an associate who was to assist us with decorating.  I was paired with Ali, who works nights and has a flair for decorating apparently.

~Home Depot Christmas Party~ VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I ended up on the party game show “Don’t Forget the Lyrics Dude!”  I was voluntold, did not volunteer.  I’m so not a singer…but I didn’t do to bad.  It was a tie until there was some Hawaiian Christmas song aleki malikoi or something…I was screwed…that was not in the church choir songbook…

Don't Forget the Lyrics VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

It was a fun night!  In my opinion we paid far too much for the food that we received…so I’m going to shoot for a different location for next year…we’ll see how that goes. 

I did get a gift from the staff…a gag gift.

To: Wanda

From: Santa

Please make sure that you use your inside voice when you have associates in your office if you are thinking this.

I open the present and its a plaque that says “Put your Big Girl Panties on and Deal with it!”  Love it!

The staff had a great chuckle and it went over very well.

Anyhow, it was a good night and we had a fun night out. 

~Christmas is Coming!~

So I've been very neglectful with my blog, sorry! I've just been busy with work and then sleeping on my couch when I'm home at night. I've basically been lazy, let's be honest. We have had been keeping busy around our house getting ready for Christmas! We have the decorations up, presents bought, and are working on crafts and baking in the next couple of weeks.

Today I'm at my sister Mary's house waiting on a delivery for her while she is at work so I thougth I would just jot a quick note! I'll put up some pictures for you all tonight or later this week!

What all happened in November?

Ethan finished his speech therapy sessions at the beginning of the month...we still aren't done with them but aren't planning on any more until May of next year. In the few weeks since we've been done going to sessions we have come leaps and bounds from where we were. He is talking a lot more now and using less gibberish sentences. He still adds them in so he sounds better but there is a lot less now! It is a nice change!

Ethan had swimming lessons in October that ended in November. He LOVED the pool and did really well in his lessons. We aren't planning on any more lessons until he is older and can move up a class. For what he learned in this class there is no sense in putting him in it again, we will just take him to the pool and do it ourselves. For the next level he needs to be 3 and able to stand up in the water so we have some waiting time! We've been trying to make it to the pool once a week to go for a family swim. We've had a setback the last couple weeks with the flu making it's rounds in our house though...

Randy is off work this week, his foot is swollen the size of a balloon. The Dr thinks it is tendonitis and has put him off for a week. So he's enjoying sitting at home playing on the computer and hanging out with Ethan. Ethan is going to stay home from daycare with him for the rest of the week as he is now able to get around a bit better. It will help to save some money...missing a week of wages is not a fun thing! Especially because he will have another week off at Christmas!

Oh that's another thing...I get 10 days off at Christmas!!! Can you freaking believe that?!?! That never happens to me! On top of that Home Depot just announced that all salaried managers and entitled to 3 weeks vacation from their hire date without having to wait the normal 5 years for it! Woo-hoo! I get like 4 weeks off every year!!! I love my job!

We have my Christmas Party this weekend, it should be fun. We also have to make our family Gingerbread house this week. I head to Regina for 3 days next week for work so there won't be much time for these things next week. It is just a quick trip to Regina for a meeting and a holiday dinner with the District Manager, Store managers and HR managers for our District. I'm looking forward to the trip as a little escape from the doldrums of real world! I have another trip in the first of Feb to Medicine Hat to look forward to as well! It looks like pretty much every two months I will be off to somewhere for a meeting. I'm going to start racking up my aeroplan miles so we can take a trip somewhere I tell you!

Anyhow, I don't know much else right now...I will look at pictures when I get home and do some posts around them and then of course there will be a post coming up on teh annual GIngerbread House construction...

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

~Big Bike 2010 – The HomeDepotHeartthrobs!~

Well this was my first year doing the Big Bike for The Heart & Stroke Foundation.  I started late raising money so sadly I only raised $60…but my great company that I work for, The Home Depot, will match my fundraising efforts and turn that into $120!!!  Isn’t that awesome?!?!  As a team we raised over $3200 with our company match! That is only the tally from the people that showed up tonight, there were quite a few that did not make it…they wussed out because of the rain!  So we may be a lot more then that!

Only 12 of us showed up to ride the bike…far less then the 29 that it can hold.  Thankfully it is quite easy to ride.  The only thing is that in Grande Prairie we start a the bottom of a large hill…they gave us the option to push it up the hill but we decided to ride up…I wasn’t in on that decision I can assure you!  I feel like a smoker again is all I can say!  They told us afterwards that no other team has been able to make it up that hill with that little amount of riders.

We did a short circuit because we were pretty wore out as a group from the hill and lack of legs pushing…we were gone around 20 minutes.  It was fun, we had people honking and waving, pointing and taking pictures…the whole nine yards!  Here are the pictures, I’m looking forward to next years ride already!!!

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They told me the shortest pedals were in the back…notice where to tallest riders were…wtf??? As you can see, my short butt had a hard time getting on…

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Notice the hill?  Not loving that hill…

On a side note, Ethan wanted to just run around and play…and was a total little shit the whole time we were there.  He charmed everyone but I’m sure they sighed a big sigh of relief when we went home…

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He spent a lot of time chasing a squirrel around the park…that was the cool thing to do!

Anyhow, we are looking forward to joining in on many more good causes like this one as a family…we will all benefit in the end!

~Working my Dream Job!~

I can’t believe how quickly this month has flown by!  I have fallen totally and utterly in LOVE with my new job!  I don’t sit on the edge of the bed in the morning every day dreaming of not leaving the house; I don’t watch the clock all day waiting for the end to come, I watch to see how much longer I can stay; I don’t whine about working evenings and weekends…what can I say…I LOVE MY JOB!!!

I’m busy from the time I step into my office until I look at the clock and realize that it’s time to go.  I feel like the CEO of my own life now.  I feel challenged, alive, like I’m working with passion everyday…even if I am coaching and reading from a book and kind of faking it right now! 

I enjoy working from home…dangerous territory for a reformed workaholic…and love that my boss has a family and respects my time with my family…

It’s about to get busy for me as I do some travelling for work over the next three months…Sept I head to Calgary for meetings, Oct to Winnipeg for meetings, November to Calgary again for Performalogics, my Husky job…I will have Christmas off – WHAT A NOVEL THOUGHT EH?!?! 

I get to come home every night and have dinner on the table at a decent hour, and go for a walk after dinner before its time for Ethan to go to bed.  We’ve started heading to Crystal Lake with bread to feed the ducks after dinner once a week.  Ethan just loves the “birss” and loves to run around the dock and give me a heart attack…

I don’t know what else I can say about my job…I thank God every day that I get the chance to work at a job where I am valued and contributing in a way that is intelligent and worthy of my time away from my family.  

~Normalcy~

That is what my new job brings with it.  My schedule for next week? Monday 6am-3pm, Tuesday 7am-4pm, Wednesday 8am-5pm, Thursday Off, Friday 8am-5pm, Saturday 8am-5pm.  Yes there is still weekends but it is only Saturdays and a shift that still allows us to do something together in the evening.  Most of my shifts will be 8am-5pm with and occasional 6am start in there (YUCK) but at least I’m done and home by 4pm!  I will be able to put Ethan into swimming lessons in the fall and other fun classes…I am so excited by the possibilities. 

Another bonus is that I get to do some travel with this job.  Most likely it will only be to Edmonton and Saskatoon but hey, a free trip without the family is always a good thing eh?  After the last two weeks with Ethan full time I feel like taking another weeks holiday to recuperate!  I’m not cut out to be a stay at home Mom, I think I would go crazy!  I would need to find ways to motivate myself to get involved in many things that would keep Ethan busy that is for sure!

I look forward to having meals at a normal time and having time after dinner to enjoy our family…what a novel thought eh?  I have my menu planned for my first weeks of work and I’m making some great meals that I could usually only make on my days off! 

Plus there are great opportunities for advancement for me.  I’m completing my degree starting in October or November, and it will take me a year or two to complete.  Thankfully I have a friend taking her degree right now while working full time that will be able to help motivate me and keep me on track.

So that’s all I know for now, can’t wait to tell you all about my first day!

~New Job~

Well I'm officially on the road to a new job...I've had my screening interview with Home Depot and so far, no rejection email. I should be receiving a call to schedule the next wave of interviews within the next day or two. Tomorrow marks the Staples interview, is it weird that I'm not even nervous for it? I'm super nervous for the Home Depot interview, probably because I have the interview guide and am trying to come up with relevant examples to answer the questions. S T R E S S F U L ! ! !

Anyhow, just wanted to update. It's going good so far!

~Monday Morning, Our Routine!~

We have busy mornings around these parts getting all three of us to three different places in a matter of a couple hours.  We have two guys to dress, a girl who needs a shower and time to primp and prep, three breakfasts to eat, two lunches to make, tools and paperwork and play clothes to be gathered and herded to the car, plus coffee to drink and cartoons to watch!  Whew!  It’s tiring just writing that out!

Anyhow, here are a few pics of our morning routine!

Watching cartoons!

Coffee and my morning email check!

Lunch bag ready to go!

Our bags are packed and ready to go!

~Job Hunt – Week One~

Well I went out yesterday for my first day of hunting for a new job.  I have a renewed determination to find a job that is Monday through Friday 8-5 but still flexible for our life as needed.  I applied at a couple of banks, the City of Grande Praire, a plumbing distribution company and the Quality Hotel.  I was able to have a quick sit down interview with the General Manager of the Quality Hotel and we struck it off right away.  I will be having a second interview with the Controller of the Hotel but I do think that I will go forward with a good recommendation.  My friend Leanne used to work there and knows the GM and is one of my references.  I have to say, I have a love for working in the hotel industry.  This job would be very similar to the job I used to have at the Holiday Inn and I LOVED that job.  I still to this day kick myself that I quit it.  But unfortunately the money sucked so I didn’t have a huge choice in the matter. 

I would also like the job with the City… pension plan!!!  I won’t lie, all of the jobs would be great at this point.  I am continuing to apply for a few that are only available to apply for online and I keep checking the job bank daily for new postings.  I am determined to have a new job by May.  I am going to negotiate in my holidays for the summer because I already have plans made so that I don’t have to change any of them.  Reitmans will have to pay out my 2 + weeks of holidays that I have accrued.  I think they owe me for 2 weeks plus 3 days.  I would like to hang on till the first of May so that I can collect on my 2 float days that come available then but I won’t stay just for that! 

Anyhow, I’ll keep you all posted on the job hunt!  I can’t wait to start a new chapter for our family!

~A New Week in the life of….~

Well it’s Monday again, and we start the rat race we call life over again for another week.  There is lots of things that are taking place this week in our house.  I have Tuesday off from work and I will be taking Ethan to daycare and going out with my resume to knock on doors to find a new job.  Now that Ethan is okay and we don’t have to commit to taking him to Edmonton week after week I am going to work on finding a job that is a M-Fri, 8-5 kind of schedule.  I am tired of working shift work and weekends because it feels like there is never a break or time to spend with Randy and Ethan.  It’s just a constant wheel that just keeps turning…

Anyhow, there are some great jobs posted right now in town that would work well for us.  The pay won’t likely be as good as my position with Reitmans but I’m willing to sacrifice a little pay for a better family life.  I’m applying to banks, the City of GP, a couple of oil companies, and a large distribution company.  So send some good thoughts my way that something good comes my way!

So that is the day part of Tuesday, that night we are going over to one of the houses that we rent out to clean it.  We did an eviction on Saturday and it was left as a total pig pen!  But we are getting a free big screen TV and there are all kinds of other things that we need to go through and donate/keep for ourselves.  Plus of course I will be paid $20 an hour to clean it.  I guess it is a mess though so it will take a couple of nights to finish. 

Wednesday is date night and we are getting a sitter and going to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D.  I can’t wait to see it, it looks like it is going to be so good.  After we will go somewhere for a quick bite to eat and then home.

Thursday and Friday nights will likely be more cleaning at the rental house.  Saturday is the day that we are putting in our new high efficient furnace…YAY!!!  I’m so excited to get it in, it will save us tonnes of money on power and gas and best yet, it will be free with our Energy retrofit grant!!!  I also have a baby shower that I’m debating on going to Saturday afternoon for a girl that works for me.  I may just send a gift and stay close to home in case Randy needs help. 

Sunday is Easter and the bunny will be visiting our house and bringing lots of goodies for little man, pictures to follow.  Plus I will likely cook up some type of big dinner for that day, not sure if it will be a turkey or a roast beef.  Whatever strikes our fancy closer to the day I guess. 

My Mom is in town and has been here since last Sunday and I haven’t seen her yet so I’m hoping that she will spend next weekend with us….hint hint! 

So the week is full for us as usual.  I’m hoping to schedule some interviews in the next week based on dropping off my resume this week.  I think I’m off the following Thursday so hopefully I can fill it up with interview after interview.  Cross your fingers for me!!!

~Sending Out a Prayer to the Auto Gods…~

Tomorrow our SUV is going into the shop to see what is going on with it.  It sounds like a semi truck right now :(  Not sure what is up but I’m asking for prayers that it isn’t expensive.  We sure cannot afford to have major problems with it right now.  Our warranty is over, now the fun will begin I’m sure!

Next issue at hand…I broke my cell today.  Like chopping off an arm I tell you!  I dropped it on the floor (Ssshhhh don’t tell Telus that one!) and the touch screen quit working.  So I took it to Telus and they are replacing it under warranty.  But that means a whole week at least of waiting, last time it took almost 4 weeks!  So I have a loaner phone, a Blackberry Pearl.  What a piece of shit!  I would never buy one of these!  I’m ready to chuck it and I’ve only used it like 4 times.  Hopefully my new phone will be in quickly and life will right itself again!

Lastly, little man broke out in hives today…not sure what caused them but from his waist up he was just covered in them.  So I ended up leaving work early to take him home and give him a bath and some Benadryl.  They seemed to subside a little bit so we’ll see if they are still there come morning.  I’m rewashing all his clothing right now just in case it was something from the laundry that caused it.  I’m also wondering if it may be an allergy to something like snow mold.  It seems to me that last year around this time he had the same issue and at the time we blamed it on the laundry soap.  We haven’t changed brands since so I’m kind of ruling it out.

But here’s hoping he’s on the mend and will sleep all night, I’m frigging bushed and my next days off are the 19th -23rd.  I have two days off from Reitmans between then and I have to do audits on both days.  So no real days off for awhile.  I’m tired just thinking about it.

Anyhow, I’m beat tired and need to sleep.  Take care and have a great day!

~Working~

Well I’m on the 5th day of a 6 day in a row stretch of working…whew I’m getting wore out!  I work today, tomorrow then have three days off from Reitmans!  Woo-hoo!  I’m going to take Ethan to daycare on Friday and do audits in town so that they are done but I should have most of the afternoon to myself.  Saturday is when Randy comes home on the bus…can’t wait for that either!  Little bit of housework and tidying up around here but for the most part I am looking forward to relaxing this weekend and doing a bit of reading.  I only have about 9 books out from the library right now…

I’ve been doing a little bit of couponing in the evenings this week.  Working on some trades for stuff we can use!  Obviously we are operating on a lean budget right now in anticipation of taking Ethan back and forth to Edmonton so I’m looking to save as much as I can with my coupons!  That combined with meal planning and we should be able to keep our food budget low for a few months.  I want to save enough that I can go to the butcher and buy a meat pack in March.  I’m getting sick of chicken!  My daycare provider gets a pack from a local butcher and the prices are incredible!  So I want to get one and stock our freezer up.

Anyhow, time has flown by and it’s time to get ready for work!  Hope you all have a great day!

~Hi~

Umm -43 degrees? Whose plan was that? I can't wait to go to work until 10pm tonight so that when I'm done it is -56 degrees. That sounds like my kind of fun!

Luckily (well not for you) most everyone that reads my blog is in the same boat as me with the weather. It is just plain cold all over!

We've had a busy week, little man and I. We were home sick at the end of last week and so had to make up for lost time this week. I went to Slave Lake on Thursday to do my audits there and it was a full day. Friday was in town audits and a little Christmas shopping. The rest of the week was the usual, work at Reitmans, eat supper, in bed at 9pm. I work all weekend and then on Tuesday I'm off and am going to get Christmas all finished, wrap presents etc. Wednesday is Ethan's checkup appt with the specialist here and then Friday we head to Edmonton to pick up Daddy. Saturday is Grandma Rogers' 70th Birthday party...we can't wait to see everyone and have a great family day there. Sunday we drive back to Grande Prairie. Short and sweet but that will be the extent of our Christmas break.

Randy is home until Jan 3rd and then he's going to take a bus back to Edmonton so that we don't have to make the long drive. It will be so nice to have him home for a couple of weeks. His 'honey do' list is waiting...

Anyhow, I must hit the showers and get on the roll for this day. I'm hoping to get permission to close the store early because of the weather conditions. I'm going to call when I get to work to see. Cross your fingers for me!!!

That's all for now, take care!

~Another One of Those Days~

Yup, it was one of "those" days today. You know the kind where you want to rip someones head off and shit down their throat because your day is so bad?

Well, it started with Ethan screaming at me non stop for an hour for no apparent reason other then he hates me I guess. Then as we are leaving the house I set my coffee cup down on the stairs while I threw my coat on. Of course Ethan picked it up and launched it across the entry with coffee spewing everywhere! So I mopped it up while seriously considering selling him on the black market and we headed to Marys house.

We all know how much I love my job so that was the next chapter of my day. Of course on Friday I had taken a spill on my foot that I hurt this summer so today it was throbbing like crazy. So I decided to go to the Emergency Room to get it checked out. You guessed it, I sprained my foot. So hobble foot me then had to go back to work to finish my shift. The Dr put me on sedentary duty for a week, that is laughable when you work retail. There is no office position for me to put up my foot up while doing work...we can't afford for me to go on WCB to heal from it either. So I guess I'm stuck hobbling around selling clothing.

So then I come home and there are peeping tom tracks around all my windows. I'm pretty freaked out that someone was looking in my windows and I would sure like to know what the hell they were doing. They came through my back gate, walked around the back of the house and onto the deck and looked in the patio door. I totally freaked out and called Randy to tell hime and kept him on the phone while I walked around the house to make sure no one was in the house. Then I found a metal rod and put it in the patio door runner. Now I'm jumping at every noise and cursing the creaks of this old house.

I put Ethan to bed, with more of the screaming from the morning. So much pent up frustration in him...what a turkey. He needed to go to sleep.

Speaking of sleep, I need some too! I am off to High Prairie in the morning. Can't wait to hobble my way through an audit!

~Home Sweet Home!~

I'm home again from Calgary. What a quick trip to our old stomping grounds. It was a fun trip, I got to see my Mommy, my friend Jess and a couple of girls I worked with at Reitmans. I did a little shopping, ate at a couple of favorite restaurants, and had some good laughs. No pictures but I did pick up another pair of shoes, some lights from Ikea, and some cool nicknacks for my house. Ethan got his gift from my friend Jess, a bug lamp for his wall from Ikea.

The training was nothing I couldn't have learned in an email but it was really nice to meet the people that I work for. It made me appreciate the job a lot more. I don't know if it will be around next year (the job that is) but I think that based on the changes that have been made I may continue on with it for another year after this one. It's hard to say.

Anyhow, I work tonight 5-10pm so I need to get ready to go. I have an Epicure/Tupperware party on Friday night that I will need to get ready for tomorrow night. My house is a bit of a mess from the rushing around in the last two weeks! Next day off is Monday and I'm headed to High Prairie!

That's all I've got for now, have a great day!

~Sick Day and Upcoming Stuff in our Little World...~

Well I was home today sick with what turns out to be a cold, thank goodness and not the hiney flu, as my friend Jess calls it:) I had the most pounding headache yesterday all day and hot and cold sweats that I knew something was up. I woke up this morning with the headache still and a sore throat and running nose. Oh joy oh bliss. I ache in every part of my body like someone kicked the crap outta me too. I had called in to work last night so I didn't even have to worry about it today thank goodness. E is sick too, I'm sure he gave it to me, little turd! So we both just hung out all day in our jammies, played and cuddled on the couch.

Early this morning Ethan decided to flop down ontop of Tigger on the floor. Unfortunately for E, Tigger moved. Ethan did a full face plant on the hardwood floor from a standing position...There was much blood...he has yet another battle wound to add to his collection. Pretty soon I will have Children's Services knocking on my door because the kid looks like he's being beaten! He fell down the stairs twice at daycare this week so he has bruises and carpet burn all over him. I'm sure that his sinuses must be plugged too because he keeps running into everything and is so clumsy! Anyhow, he is fine, just has a HUGE fat lip and a nice set of teeth marks on his top lip...

We are already missing Daddy around these parts. This is a big house to be rattling around in all alone. But time will start flying now like crazy. I leave on Sunday to Calgary for training with Performalogics till Wednesday. I have dinner plans with my old staff from Calgary and my Mom is coming to Calgary to see me. I'm also going to hit up a mall to return my shoes I bought last weekend and hopefully find another pair that are more comfortable. The heels on them kill me! I didn't think there was much heel to them but there must be! I get to see Jess for the first time in ages and she's also taking me to IKEA. Yay! I will just be looking but that is so fun anyhow!!!

I get back on Wednesday and I work from 5-10pm that night. Then I work straight thru till Monday at Reitmans. On Friday the 20th I have an Epicure/Tupperware Party at my house for my friend Leanne, I have yet to send out an invitation...On Monday I head to High Prairie to do an audit there, audits on Tuesday morning before work, and Thursday before work. I work Reitmans straight through till Friday. So far I have nothing scheduled for work that day...follow that? LOL, I'm not sure I can!

In December I am not even sure how it is going yet, I may have to do all my audits twice...I have no idea how I would do that while working at Reitmans...But it will only happen once.

January will be slower I think, I plan on taking a week off in January when Randy gets home. I have to have some tests done to find out why I'm having such weird pains in my stomach. It's been going on for about a month now and the Doctor first thought it was an ulcer but he wants to investigate further. So I will be having an ultrasound and a camera study done on my whole tummy area. I told them that they had to wait till Randy was back before I would do the camera one because they have to put me under to do it. I've never been put under before so I'd rather have him around when they do it. So I will continue on with the pain until he's home...

Other than that we are just plugging along here in GP. I can't wait to decorate for Christmas and would love to have a week off to do some crafting! But I will sneak some in here and there.

No pictures today but a cute video is in the works of Ethan. Daddy has internet at NAIT so we want to share some fun times we are having here at home so he doesn't miss out on much while he's gone.

~Good Sunday Morning!~

I'm working today and if it is anything like yesterday the day should fly by quickly! I was run off my feet yesterday and in bed by 9:30pm! I'm not going to lie, I'm getting pretty wore out...my last days off were last weekend and with Ethan sick, it was a marathon weekend of no sleep or rest. I'm getting my audits done this week so my days off during the week are filled with them. I'm looking forward to next weekend off and celebrating Ethans' birthday...I'm hoping he's feeling much better!

I haven't shared yet but we got some pretty good news last week. We were waiting till this spring to book an appointment for our genetics appointment in Edmonton. I was just getting myself organized to do it one of these days and I got a call last week from the Grande Prairie clinic. It turns out that the geneticist will be in Grande Prairie on May 12! They offered us the first appointment! I was so happy because now we don't have to travel all the way to Edmonton for it! Plus not a long wait. So we have our appointment first thing in the morning on May 12. The Dr has all the info already that they requested so we just need to go, we're not sure what to expect but we'll keep you posted! The point of this appointment is to determine if Ethans' fistula is genetic or if it was just an one off problem.

Other then that we are just enjoying the nicer weather. It was over 20 degrees here yesterday and today looks like another great day. I only wish I could get outside to enjoy it! I'm really looking forward to next weekend, the weather better be nice!!!

~I'm Hungry & Tired!~

I should really go to bed...but I really want to eat something. I need to, I only had a crappy Mcdonalds meal for supper because I was doing a mystery shop there. Got to love getting paid $30 to eat!

Anyhow, Ethan is feeling better...now I've caught his cold though. I really wish I could get to a place of health where I don't get sick every time a bug comes through our house.

Ethan's cousin Cole, my sister Mary's son, was not so lucky though. She took him to emerg last night because he was having stomach pains and he was rushed in to get his appendix removed! What a little trooper his is though, he's already home and on the mend! So send out some prayers for her little man to feel better soon!

Well I'm off to bed, it's past time for that! I work straight for the next two weeks so hopefully I don't keel over from exhaustion! Between Reitmans and Audits I'm kept hopping!

Tata for now!

~It's an Ugghhh Day!~

Everyone that came into work today was bitchy, customers, staff, me...So it was an Ugghhh day. It definatly didn't help that it snowed last night and it was cold out today. I hate working at a job I don't love. Anyone have any tips on how to find that job? I need them all. Preferably it would be fulltime with me working 10 hours a week and pay at least $1000 a week. That would be nice. I guess that is a pipe dream eh?

I would settle for having my scrapbooking glue so I could play. I feel that need to have a little creative time for me. It's been a while and Ethan turns 1 this Sunday and I haven't even started him a scrapbook. I'm a bad mommy.

Anyhow, not much else going on. Mom will be here tomorrow. Randy's Mom can't make it she's not feeling well so she thought she would lay low at home. We're sad she can't make it and hope she's feeling better soon.

Looking forward to the weekend off and Ethan's big party. I'll post pics of the party as soon as I can. For now, I'm going to go curl up in bed with a book and go to sleep. I know I'm pathetic, it's not even 9pm. But I'm beat. So I'm outta here!